Democrats, Obama refuse to negotiate

You believe “Republicans are laughing behind closed doors.” Your sports and political history editorial (“No gains come from Tea Party gains,” Oct. 3) of the past 18 years was written before President Obama summoned Republicans to the White House last Wednesday for another lecture (he does not negotiate or converse). Speaker Boehner emerged at 6:30 p.m., stood by the front door, and said there was no progress.

Who was laughing inside the closed doors of the White House? Most Democrats joined in this political action, which they believe is the start of the 2014 campaign to retake the House.

The Democratic script is not to negotiate, which will keep the government closed, to default on the debt, and to blame the Republicans for the next 13 months ensuring an Obama total control and capture of the United States in his last two years.

The Affordable Care Act is not the issue. A one-year delay for individual sign up is one of the key Republican issues. Obama has unilaterally extended corporate signup for a year and changed the law 18 other ways. He just did it, despite taking an oath in 2008 and 2012 to uphold the laws and Constitution of the United States. (It does not allow the president the right to decide which laws he chooses to defend.) If Obama and the Senate Democrats had negotiated about one more change of ACA, there would probably not be any government closure.

In the 10th paragraph of your 550- word editorial you lament about the closing of nonessential services. The House (Republicans) has passed and sent separate spending authorizations for parks, vets, et al, all of which have been rejected by the Democrats.

The Republicans have anticipated the White House doors would continue to be closed (so the country cannot hear the laughing) through Oct. 17 when the debt ceiling is reached. They have passed an emergency authorization for the Treasury Department to pay interest and amortization. The Democrats have rejected this.

You wrote that your perspective has been the past 18 years. I believe that when you are 49 (the next 18 years) there will be issues more important than baseball and football, such as the diminution of freedom, liberty and opportunity, which you had in 2013 – or maybe when 2032 arrives, compare the life of your parents when you were born. You can ask them about Ronald Reagan.